ALBUM REVIEW: Maleza – Bala

There aren’t many records which go from 0-60 as quickly as Spanish rock duo BALA‘s third full-length Maleza. Opener Agitar sees one of the two of them rapidly explode into anger as they speak the album’s first line of “Me has descubierto durmiendo con el ceño fruncido” (You caught me sleeping with a frown). The ferocity is quickly matched by scuzzy guitars and stomping drums which grab listeners by their throats in seconds. What follows is a short, riff-heavy and raging first track, and eight more which are much the same. All this is of course pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a band whose name literally translates to ‘Bullet’.

Despite having a relatively tight runtime of just 24 minutes, Maleza is still BALA‘s longest album thus far. It follows 2017’s Lume and 2015’s Human Flesh, and doesn’t deviate massively from the sound of either. Instead, the duo continue to mix grunge, punk, stoner rock and more to raw and primal effect. Unsurprisingly, the results are likely to go down well with fans of bands like NIRVANA and FU MANCHU, but there’s also a more biting modern edge to the record thanks in large part to its crisp production.

As mentioned, Agitar does a good job of setting the tone for the record to follow. The energy and ferocity never really drop, even if it isn’t much we haven’t heard before. Second track Hoy No carries on with the band’s raucous M.O. for two minutes of solid bratty punk. X after that doesn’t exactly break the mould either, but it does feel a bit stronger. This one has more bite, with a big swaggering riff and raging D-beat drumming. It also shows off the band’s use of more melodic backing vocals which juxtapose nicely with their harsher shouts.

With BALA not doing much to mess with tried and tested formulas, Maleza does unfortunately become a touch samey. There’s nothing wrong with fourth and fifth tracks Mi Orden and Cien Obstáculos, but nor do they do bring much more to the table. As such, while there’s no doubt the band know their way around a good old-fashioned rager, there’s a sense that a little more variation would’ve gone a long way.

This is an argument made stronger by the success of the record’s sixth track, Quieres Entrar. This is easily the most dynamic song on Maleza, and almost certainly its best. It starts relatively quiet, with ominous tinkering ride cymbals and clean guitars behind softer vocals. This is then rudely interrupted by a gigantic crushing riff over which one of the duo screams the song’s title. It sounds absolutely massive, and hits far harder by coming seemingly out of nowhere. The rest of the track carries on with a strong command of dynamics, ensuring the full attention of any listeners who had started to drift with the songs before it.

As fine as the tracks which follow Quieres Entrar are, it’s safe to say BALA don’t hit those heights again. Of the album’s final third, eighth track Bessie is probably the strongest. This kicks off with a riff which feels plucked right out of the deserts of the 90s stoner rock scene. From here, it runs along instrumentally for a good minute or so before launching into more raucous punk. A sing-along here is all but guaranteed with the song’s simple lyrics of “Ride free Bessie/Ride free.” After Bessie, the duo wrap things up nicely with closing track Una Selva. Again, there are no great surprises here, but everything still does what it needs to.

Overall, Maleza makes for a perfectly fine, hard-hitting rock record. A slight lack of variation is hardly the end of the world for this kind of music, and its short runtime definitely stops it ever feeling like a slog. Instead, this is an album with moments of greatness amid a collection of good tracks. If BALA can mix things up a little bit more going forward, that’s great. If not, plenty of people will be happy enough with this, not least as a source of nostalgia for the rock bands of the 90s BALA clearly draw much of their inspiration from.

Rating: 7/10

Maleza is set for release on May 14th via Century Media Records.

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